I'm in the market for a kitchenaid, and I just want to know which one is the best for a home baker? My current mixer gets mad when I make stiff BC. I haven't attempted royal yet, but I am this week, and I don't think she's gonna make it. Is KA really the route to go? Does any prefer another brand? Is the artisan series sufficient or should I try the Professional? Thanks for your help!

I started with a cheap stand mixer my sister gave me & I burned it out on royal icing.

I received a kitchen Aid for my birthday one year & was amazed at how awesome it is!!!!!!
I have the artisan & it can handle anything I throw at it.
I found that I was baking more with the kitchenaid &, at times, looking for a reason to use it.

My father in law has the professional series.... I like my artisan better, but that may be more a case of what you are used to & what you will use it for...

thanks misha! maybe i'll just start out with the artisan and "graduate to the professional if i need to. besides, the artisan comes in my favorite color!!!

I love, love, love my KA Pro. Another little tidbit....... I have a 5 year old KA hand mixer, yesterday I decided to put it out to pasture. I bought a 6 speed Oster - 250 watts - I found at Target. This thing was a MANEATER!!! SCARy, and I don t' scare easy! I put it back in the box and if it doesn't mess with me I'll return the favor. Anyone tried this mixer and lived? Did I get a mutant?

If you want power, check out the Delonghi. If you shop around a little, you can usually find it for a good price. It is a little more expensive than the KAs, (I just found one for around $380) but it is 7qt. with a 980 watt motor. The KA Professional is 6qt. with only 525 watt motor. I will NEVER usa a KA again after "bonding" with my Delonghi.

OMG eme!!! I just checked out the Delonghi website and I think I'm in love!!! I was just about to order a KA, but I thought I should check this post first, and I'm so glad I did. I like the design much better! But let me ask you, what's the "toughest" thing you've mixed in yours? Have you ever tried fondant? Does it perform well with small batches as well as large? How long have you had it? And one more, does it have a good warranty?

I just bought the Cuisinart 7QT 1000 watt a couple of months ago. It will handle the stiffest gumpaste recipe. What a badboy!!!! I love it!!

I had an Artisan Kitchenaid for maybe 8 years now, and I LOVED it, used it all the time, too â until it broke a couple of weeks ago. Besides cakes and icing, I make a ton of âheavyâ doughs, like chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies, all kinds of breads, whipped ganache, so Iâve definitely gotten my moneyâs worth from it, no performance questions asked ever! But, now, getting it fixed is a major pain (apparently it needs to be mailed to a depot somewhere, diagnosed, then they send a quote, and if I decide I want to spend what it takes to get it fixed, then they proceed and send it back, who knows how long the entire process takesâ¦). Instead, last weekend I gave it to a friend who has the reputation of being able to fix anything, from cars to TVâs... While I donât know his verdict yet, Iâm looking for alternatives should my favorite toy be beyond repair⦠I bought a $50 hand mixer, also Kitchenaid, to sustain me in the meantime, but that thing is back in box ready for return after it couldnât get SMBC past the foam stage!!!!! While Iâd be very sad to part with my faithful Artisan, if that comes to pass, that Delonghi looks sharp!!!

I have two Delonghis and while they work well, they are very loud. Much louder than my 20 qt Hobart.

That much power is going to create a little noise. I LOVE mine and I am in the market for an extra bowl for it. I also have a 20qt mixer, but it's in a small room so I can dump all the ingredients in it, set the timer and close the door.

I have made cookie dough, MMF, royal, etc. and it has never even sounded strained.

does anyone have any experience with the KA600 professional? i know it doesn't have that many watts but i like that the bowl lifts up and down to it. i seem to make a mess with my artisan trying to get ingredients into the bowl.

I have the 6Qt KA Pro, and I love it. I love the bowl lift, but I have never had a tilting head mixer. I don't think I would like the tilting head. I use the pour shield on my bowl, and hardly ever have much of a mess after adding ingredients. I love my mixer!

it seems that the KA 600 is the last "professional" mixer you can buy before you get into more commercial items costing $2000 and up. i wasn't aware of the delonghi until this thread so maybe i should check into that as well.

I'm a huge fan of my Viking 7qt. mixer. It's 1000 watts of power and not super loud. I also have a KA Artisan, and a 20 qt Hobart (which I love, but not practical for home use, lol).

The Viking can run circles around the KA I have. I like having more room in the bowl. I use Sylvia Weinstock's IMBC recipe, and it makes a mess in the artisan, but no problems making the full recipe in the Viking.

I bought a KA pro 600 and it's FINE, but that bowl lift design isn't my fave. I'm all about the tilthead. So I ordered a Delonghi the next week (yes, my husband thinks I'm crazy, but he puts up with me, sometimes!)

You can see the side by side comparasin. I also really like that the splatter shield for the delonghi lifts with the tilt head. And look at all the ports!!

Oh yeah...the pour shield is really nice on the Delonghi.

I'm working on getting the blender, and the food processor attachment for my mixer. My hubby puts up with me, too....lol

You all are so helpful! Alison, thanks for the visuals! Is the the 7 QT Delonghi that you have? Have you all heard the complaints about their customer service if the unit breaks down? I read that if it breaks, you could be in real trouble! I still want it though.

I love, love, love my KA600 Professional, but I have to admit that the Delonghi looks pretty amazing!!

Those pics look to me like they were taken in mixer Heaven! Heaven to me anyways! What a nice pair! I'm jealous! I told my DH I wanted a new stand mixer for Christmas when my OLD Sunbeam died, and I ended up with a sort of small no name brand. I don't have the heart to get rid of it, so I've been trying like mad to burn it out , but surprisingly enough, it really takes a beating, and shows no signs of stopping!

I don't know if you have heard of a Bosch but it is all I will use. I got rid of my kitchen aid as soon as my DH bought me the bosch. The motor is stronger and the bowl is bigger.

I bought a Wolfgang Puck stand mixer at Sam's 3-4 years ago, and it does well for me and I think I only paid $170 for it. I fell in love with the 7 qt Cuisinart (which looks a lot like the DeLonghi). They did not have it in stock and I couldn't leave without a mixer, so I bought the 5.5 qt Cuisinart. I LOVE it.

okay, i'm really excited because i got the delonghi 7 qt. mixer and it arrives this morning!! my ka still works but the whole top arm shakes back and forth when mixing anything that's a bit more firm. i didn't want to be in the middle of a project and have it break. so, the new one comes today and i can't wait to use it. i have 3 orders for this weekend so i will have plenty of time to try it. i'll report back!

congrats mom42ws!!!

I've had my KA Artisian for 5 years and purchased the KA Pro 600 about a year ago. Although it is very loud I do love it and would love to have another. My Artisian is great for smaller stuff but I make 12 cups of IMBC at a time and the Pro is very nice for this as well as double cake recipes.

I have the Pro 600 Kitchenaid. I totally love it!!! I still have my classic KA and use it, but for the big jobs My pro 600 is GREAT!!!! Lots of power and room!

Okay, so I just purchased the Delonghi DSM5! YEA!!! I'm so excited! Now, while I'm waiting for it to be delivered, I'll go see if my current mixer can handle Royal! Thanks for your opinions everyone!!!